Valentina Shevchenko News

Drake Riggs - December 12, 2017

Initially reported as in the works by Luciano Andrade of Combate, the rumored bout between Valentina Shevchenko and Priscila Cachoeira is on as confirmed by the UFC.

Tom Taylor - December 7, 2017

Last weekend, Nicco Montano and Roxanne Modafferi stepped into the Octagon to compete in the first ever UFC women’s flyweight title fight. After five, fun, back and forth rounds, Montano came out on top, making history as the first female flyweight champ in UFC history. Unsurprisingly, long-time women’s bantamweight contender Valentina Shevchenko, who could well be the next flyweight title challenger, was watching closely. “I was watching the fight,” Shevchenko said on the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio. “It was a very good fight, a very entertaining fight. It was five rounds, no talk, not one girl wanted to quit and both girls put all the heart that they had [out there]. My number one goal, like it was before, and it still right now, is to be the champion of UFC, and I’m very glad that now we have one more weight class, 125. It’s my natural weight class, and I feel like fighting in this 125 [division], I will have more opportunity to show more skills, more technique, because it’s different when you have to fight with bigger sized opponent and it’s different when you have to fight with the same sized opponent. It doesn’t matter for me because in 135 I was feeling the same good. I was feeling very strong there and everything was great. But I feel for 125, it’s more natural weight class for me.”

Tom Taylor - December 7, 2017

Last Friday, the UFC crowned it’s first ever women’s flyweight champion in Nicco Montaño, who defeated Roxanne Modafferi to earn the inaugural title. While Montaño now owns the belt, however, many expect her reign to be quite short, as long-time women’s bantamweight contender Valentina Shevchenko zeroes in on a drop to flyweight, and most likely, an immediate title shot. In fact, many fans seem to consider Shevchenko the uncrowned flyweight queen. Yet while Shevchenko finds these opinions flattering, she is being careful not to let them get to her head. Overconfidence, after all, is a killer in MMA.

Jason Kindschy - December 6, 2017

BJPENN Radio is live at 8PM ET/5PM PT! 8:15PM ET- First up, one of MMA’s most recognizable names, Joe “Diesel” Riggs joins us to preview his upcoming fight for the M-1 middleweight strap and what’s next for the long-time veteran. A return to the UFC? Another bare-knuckle boxing match? We’ll be discussing it all.

Tom Taylor - November 16, 2017

Not long ago, long-time UFC strawweight star Paige VanZant took to Twitter to announce that she would be getting the first crack at the new UFC women’s flyweight champion crowned by the current season of The Ultimate Fighter. Shortly thereafter, top bantamweight contender Valentina Shevchenko, who has long flirted with a drop to flyweight, challenged this assertion from VanZant, and challenged her to a title eliminator. Speaking on the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio, Valentina Shevchenko explained her choice to call out Paige VanZant.

Jason Kindschy - November 15, 2017

BJPENN Radio returns at 8PM ET/5PM PT with another stacked lineup! 8:15PM ET- Kicking off the show we are joined by former title challenger and possible future UFC champion, “The Bullet” Valentina Schevchenko. Shortly after announcing she would be dropping down to compete in the newly formed women’s flyweight division, Valentina challenged Paige Van Zant to a title-elimination fight. However, Paige declined the matchup and we’re going to discuss the situation with Schevchenko in depth.

Chris Taylor - November 12, 2017

Former UFC women’s bantamweight title challenger Valentina Shevchenko looks absolutely stunning at 125-pounds. Of course that is not to say that “The Bullet” was not gorgeous when fighting at bantamweight. But at her new home of flyweight, Shevchenko is definitely a top contender for the title of “the most beautiful woman in all of mixed martial arts”.

Chris Taylor - November 11, 2017

Popular UFC fighter Paige VanZant has turned down an offer to fight former bantamweight title challenger Valentina Shevchenko. “The Bullet”, Valentina Shevchenko, had recently announced her intentions to drop down to the UFC’s new women’s flyweight division, this following her controversial split-decision loss to Amanda Nunes at UFC 215 in September.

Chris Taylor - September 30, 2017

Valentina Shevchenko (14-3 MMA) is one of the toughest and most talented fighters in the UFC. “The Bullet” proved her grit last month when she challenged “The Lioness” Amanda Nunes for the UFC women’s bantamweight championship at UFC 215 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Tom Taylor - September 14, 2017

Last weekend, in the main event of UFC 215, Kyrgyzstani striking specialist Valentina Shevchenko came up inches short in a back-and-forth battle with women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes, losing a split decision. While Shevchenko has repeatedly shared her disappointment with this decision, and assured she’ll fight Nunes again, she recently told Submission Radio that her next fight is likely to be in the UFC’s new women’s flyweight division.

Tom Taylor - September 13, 2017

Last Saturday, in the main event of UFC 215, women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes and challenger Valentina Shevchenko battled for five rounds. In the end, the judges awarded the victory to the champ Nunes by split decision – but that result did not jive with Shevchenko. From the moment the decision was announced, Shevchenko shared her disappointment with it. Late on Tuesday night, that trend continued, as she issued a lengthy statement on the fight, argued that she should have won, and vowed to meet Nunes a third time.

Tom Taylor - September 10, 2017

No words A post shared by Mikebisping (@mikebisping) on Sep 9, 2017 at 8:24pm PDT

Justin Golightly - September 9, 2017

It’s finally here. Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shevchenko finally meet for the second time. We were supposed to get this fight at UFC 213, but unfortunately Amanda Nunes’ severe sinusitis flared up and she pulled out. After going through the build-up three times, Nunes and Shevchenko wasted no time getting after each other tonight at UFC 215. Arguably two of the best women fighters on the planet threw down to see who improved since UFC 196. @BulletValentina just dislocated her finger… Then had it popped back into place in her corner. She didn't even flinch. #savage

Justin Golightly - September 8, 2017

Although Demetrious Johnson’s quest for MMA history will be postponed, Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shevchenko are good to go this time. It’s a rematch between two of the top women in the sport right now, with the UFC bantamweight title on the line. Another former UFC champ, Holly Holm, knows exactly what it’s like to be in Nunes’ position. In July of last year, Holm tested Shevchenko’s toughness and lost a decision to the Polish striker. It’s one of the reasons she is picking Shevchenko over Nunes tomorrow at UFC 215. “I think Amanda Nunes is a very tough girl; Valentina [Shevchenko] is far more technical. I think everyone knows Amanda likes power shots, and Shevchenko is a lot more technical. I think Shevchenko can take the belt away. Anything can happen in a fight. Don’t get me wrong, but I think Shevchenko can do it.” — Holly Holm speaking to MMA Junkie.

Russell Ess - September 7, 2017

Although Amanda Nunes may be feeling a lack of promotion after pulling out of UFC 213, the UFC women’s bantamweight champion is still just focused on one thing: fighting. Nunes was given a hard time after pulling out of the UFC 213 championship title fight against Valentina Shevchenko the day of their scheduled fight. Nunes stated that she had chronic sinusitis and was not feeling well enough to fight. Shevchenko believes that Nunes had a rough weight cut and was feeling week after making the 135-pound limit, which ultimately caused her to pull out of the fight.

Justin Golightly - August 18, 2017

After coming off the wrong side of a decision to UFC bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes at UFC 196, a decision she tried to correct at UFC 213. Unfortunately, Nunes had to withdraw due to a severe and chronic sinusitis. Shevchenko didn’t accept that excuse, wasting no time telling our own Chris Taylor about what she thought in their latest interview. Finally, they are going to get to fight again at UFC 215 and after all Shevchenko has been through, she’s not accepting a loss as an answer. “Everything is going good. I’m staying in Colorado together with my coach and my sister Antonina. I am training very hard and preparing to be the strongest that I can. This fight will be totally different because since that fight I have grown so much. I had very good training camps for my fight with Holly Holm and then Julianna Pena. So I feel like I am a totally different person and a different fighter than she fought last time. Most importantly for me is there is only one way. The one way is the victory. There is nothing else, nothing more. I will  do everything, it doesn’t matter what. If I have to fight the full distance I will do it. If I have to fight on the ground, I will do that. It doesn’t matter, whatever I have to do to win this fight I will do it!” – Valentina Shevchenko on her upcoming rematch with Amanda Nunes.

Russell Ess - July 17, 2017

The women’s bantamweight title fight between champion Amanda Nunes and challenger Valentina Shevchenko has been rescheduled for UFC 215, according to a report by Combate. UFC 215 takes place in Edmonton, Canada, on September 9. The two were supposed to fight in the main event of UFC 213. However, Nunes withdrew from the competition the day of their fight after claiming that she felt ill.

Tom Taylor - July 11, 2017

If things had gone according to plan, Valentina Shevchenko would have battled Amanda Nunes for UFC bantamweight gold in the main event of UFC 213 last Saturday. Unfortunately, Nunes was forced out of the bout with an illness at the last minute – at least, that’s her story. Shevchenko is not so sure about Nunes’ story. She shared her doubts on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour.